Teen charged following fatal stabbing at Braeside house party (with video)

Clara Ho, Calgary Herald03.07.2014

Police tape contains a large scene on Braniff Green S.W. after an overnight fatal stabbing.Gavin Young
/ Calgary Herald

Blood on the road and a car remained on Braniff Green S.W. after an overnight fatal stabbing.Gavin Young
/ Calgary Herald

Police investigate a large scene on Braniff Green S.W. after an overnight fatal stabbing.Gavin Young
/ Calgary Herald

Police tape contains a large scene on Braniff Green S.W. after an overnight fatal stabbing.Gavin Young
/ Calgary Herald

Police tape contains a large scene on Braniff Green S.W. after an overnight fatal stabbing.Gavin Young
/ Calgary Herald

Neighbours say this home at the centre of a large fatal stabbing scene on Braniff Green S.W. is a known party house in the neighbourhood.Gavin Young
/ Calgary Herald

Gary Sarkar was one of those who attended a party on Braniff Green S.W. Sarkar left when he felt tensions rising and a short time later a fight broke out which left one teenager dead from stab wounds, and another in hospital.Gavin Young
/ Calgary Herald

Police investigate a large scene on Braniff Green S.W. after an overnight fatal stabbing.Gavin Young
/ Calgary Herald

A teen has been charged after a birthday bash at a southwest home turned violent early Saturday. One partygoer died and another is in hospital recovering from stab wounds.

Roland Smith, 18, of Calgary, has been charged with one count each of second-degree murder and attempted murder.

A second man was arrested Sunday evening and more charges are anticiapted.

Friends are remembering the victim, 17-year-old Juliano Vieira, as a friendly guy with a big heart who was always smiling.

“He was just a great guy,” said best friend Arham Hussain, holding back tears.

City police say they were called to the home in the 11400 block of Braniff Road S.W. in Braeside shortly after midnight to respond to reports of a disturbance at a house party.

When officers arrived, they found two teenage males outside the home in the intersecting road of Braniff Green S.W. suffering from stab wounds.

The teens were taken to Foothills Hospital where one died. The other is in stable condition.

The party was originally meant to be a celebration for friends whose birthdays are in March, of which Adam Whitmore was one of the honourees.

“Everyone was here having a party and then a whole bunch of random people came over that nobody knew,” said the 19-year-old, who knows the homeowner and party host from high school. “Then the party just started getting a bit out of hand.”

At first, the host allowed the uninvited group to stay because they weren’t causing problems.

But when a girl at the party alleged that her idling car had been stolen, a confrontation quickly erupted, Whitmore said.

“Everybody was yelling and nobody was being quiet. Everybody was trying to yell over other people. That just made everything worse,” he said.

The host tried to usher unruly individuals outside. Then people started fighting on the front lawn.

Laura Fraser, who lives nearby, said she was awoken by the sounds of a female voice screaming “stop, stop, stop!”

When she looked outside, she saw a large group of people beating up a smaller group and quickly dialed 911.

“I called the cops and said ‘I’m not really sure what to do.’ And she just kept asking me to stay still and watch and watch and watch,” Fraser said.

“Just watching these kids and not being able to help, that’s not a fun position to be in for anybody,” she continued, her voice shaking.

As police arrived, people scattered, getting into their vehicles and driving away, she said.

Whitmore said he stayed in the basement because he didn’t want to get caught in the melee.

When he emerged, he said he was rounded up by officers along with most of the partygoers — more than 60 people — and taken by bus to police headquarters for questioning. They were all released several hours later.

Gary Sarkar said he was invited to the party but left when the fighting began because he felt the situation was unsafe. He didn’t even know people had been stabbed until he got a notification on Facebook from a friend.

When the 17-year-old learned Vieira was killed, his heart sank.

“He was an extremely nice person. He wouldn’t have done anything to bother anyone in any way. Whatever happened last night, he didn’t deserve,” said Sarkar.

“He’s the type of guy you know that it’s tragic to lose, doesn’t matter how long you’ve known him.”

Hussain was so overcome with emotion, he had difficulty speaking about Vieira. He said they met in school and quickly became best friends over their love of soccer and other common interests.

Homicide investigators are still working to determine the motive for the stabbings.

“It’s early in the investigation and we’re trying to determine who was at the party and what their role was,” said Staff Sgt. Sheldon Scott. “It hasn’t been a common address that we attend.”

Yellow police tape remained stretched around a large area of Braniff Green and Braniff Road on Saturday. Blood was visible in a nearby alley and next to a parked Corolla across the location of the house party.

Evidence markers dotted the road in front of the home as officers probed the scene. Later in the day, a search and rescue team scoured the scene for evidence.

More information is expected to be released following an autopsy scheduled for Monday.

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Teen charged following fatal stabbing at Braeside house party (with video)